Energy ebbs; Pittsburgh law firms readjust

The downturn in the energy sector claimed one of the fastest-growing law firms in Pittsburgh in late 2015 when Burleson LLP shuttered all five of its offices.

Frost Brown Todd LLC wound up hiring 10 former Burleson lawyers when it set up shop downtown last January, includingKevin Colosimo, who serves as Pittsburgh member-in-charge.

Opportunities in the energy sector are precisely why FBT wanted to enter southwestern Pennsylvania. But Colosimo & Co. are providing different types of legal services than when Burleson planted its flag in Canonsburg in 2008.

“We’ve moved much of the litigation from what I’d call land lease-related work, which is someone trying to enforce the lease or get out of it, to more royalty litigation, which is about how people operate under the lease,” Colosimo said. “That’s a big growing area.”